Landscapes and Wildlife of Southern Africa

Our last stop was Kapama Lodge, jut outside of Kruger National Park. The lodge is in a private reserve so it does not have as many restrictions as the Park.

Baggage claim at Kapama Airport - the bags stay still and the people go around in circles.

Out of the airport and directly into safari vehicles. Each one had a ranger/driver and a spotter. Between the two they didn't miss much.

A female kudu.

Giraffes (we saw so many that even Chuck was sated) are graceful when they walk but very ungainly when they drink.

There were nyala all over the lodge grounds. Quite harmless but I avoided coming between mothers and their young.

Zebras were more often spotted singly or in small groups, unlike the huge herds in East Africa.

A blackbacked jackal, this time in a very different environment.

South Africa is famous for its variety of birdlife.

Warthogs.

A steenbok - the smallest antelope in Kruger Park. This one was about 18-20 inches tall.

A young leopard, hidden well off the trail. We had to go off-road to see it, which is an advantage to being in a reserve.

No one, including the ranger, had ever seen an elephant stand up to get food. I think giraffes have some new competition.

The elephants and other animals were not bothered by our vehicles, as long as we remained seated.

Kruger is famous for lions and our ranger was determined to find them for us.

This lone lion was only a beginning - he know there was a pride out there somewhere.

A goshawk. Like most birds of prey he prefers a high perch.

Kingfisher.

A tree squirrel - in a tree, of course.

Cape starling - a very common sight but the orange eyes always gave me pause.

A go-away bird. Their call sounds like "Go Away!"

We found a mother and calf white rhino. Like black rhinos, they are gray.

She kept nudging him to move and I thought that she wanted to move on.

But no, she just wanted his mudhole.

But he forgave her in the end.

A spotted eagle owl. We went out on game runs every night with the spotter using a spotlight but the animals were usually too quick or dark to be photographed.

After much searching - the lion pride!

They hung around for a while, then the lioness decided it was time to go.

So everyone had to follow but not without some complaining about interrupted naps.

The last animals of the trip - a mother and young zebra.